Verizon

Barnes and Noble first tipped their hand in July, when they announed their new e-book store and its 700,000 titles would be made available on the iPhone and BlackBerry platforms. Then in August, the bookseller announced a partnership with e-reader maker iRex, in addition to love for Plastic Logic and their devices. And today (drumroll, please) the company officially announced the iRex DR800SG reader, the first e-book reader with access to the Barnes and Noble catalog.

This week, the House passed a bill delaying the digital TV transition originally planned for February 17 to June 12. President Obama is expected to sign the bill, which would give your grandparents and Gossip Girl-addicted luddites another four months to ensure a broadcast signal by purchasing a digital television or government subsidized $40 convertor box.

The delay has been heralded by consumer advocates as a necessary measure to ensure that every American has the opportunity to make the transition from analog to digital broadcast television. 6.5 million households have still not made the jump and there have been problems with the government’s digital converter voucher program.

But not everyone is supportive:

NOW
Treo 650
2.5â€3G Networks
Currently Available

Video Quality
Up to 20 frames per second (fps)-4 fps slower than full-motion video.

Channels
Up to 30

Technology
2.5Gâ€3G Networks Boasting speeds of up to 2.4 megabits per second (almost cable-modem speed), these networks allow cellphones like the Treo 650 to tune in to TV stations or stream programming on demand.

For years, the phrase â€PDAâ€phone combo†brought to mind clunky bricks that appealed to only the most connectivity-crazed early adopters. But the latest incarnations of these devices, now known by the more marketing-friendly tag â€smartphone,†are finally fit for the rest of us. So why do you want one?Beyond the obvious calling capabilities, smartphones keep your calendar and address book close at hand (and ever more easily synced with your PC), provide access to e-mail and the Web,